WHITEHALL — An empty plot of land at Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park is going to be given new life. There's a plan to build a new bike trail as well as more campsites to accommodate more visitors
Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park didn’t have high attendance this year because the caverns were closed due to COVID, but Rhea Armstrong, the park manager, saw more people enjoying outdoor activities like hiking and biking than before.
"Some visitors come to Montana and bicycle across so that they can have a more intimate experience and we’re trying to bring amenities into state parks that will help facilitate that visit," said Armstrong.
The new campsite and bike trail will be equipped with shaded picnic areas, electrical outlets, and shelters for bikes to those visitors passing through. "They're making four tenting sites. . . it’s going to have food storage and it’s just going to be set up in this area so that they can bike ride over to this and have their own community if they want to camp at the park," said Armstrong.
Contractors will bid on the construction of this new campsite and will have sixty days to complete it, just in time for the summer. "We don’t anticipate it will take that long but so it should be done by mid-season, mid-summer," said Armstrong.
This new campsite will allow more visitors to stay which means more business for communities next to the park. "I’m thinking once we have that facility that will open up to all of those that might be passing through so I see it as just another avenue to serve more people and also have the neighboring communities have that added benefit of more visitation coming through with more business," said Armstrong.
